New Year, New Projects

I have two major self-directed projects year! The first is a card game for my Shrumans and the second is a series called Spindleroot.

The card game will be a casual dedicated deck with light strategy and fun for all ages. There will be mushrooms galore with categories like medicinal, edible, and poisonous that will educate on the sheer variety of fungal species! I start with designing the game play and then illustrate the full deck of cards. Once the art assets are in place, there is sure to be a crowdfunding campaign (most likely Kickstarter) to help with the manufacturing costs of the finished card game.

Spindleroot is the series name for a project I am developing featuring a magical world inhabited by animal characters. For the time being, it includes artwork that is set in the same universe, but there are plans to include other forms of media. I am gradually building Spindleroot with each piece and look forward to sharing the unfolding narrative.

Speaking of Spindleroot, I finished one more illustration in the series this month titled "Beware the Wyrm". Enjoy a few of the progress images below.

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Project Support

To fit all these epic illustration projects into my schedule, I need to reduce my typical freelance load. This leaves me a little short on funds, so that's where having more passive income really helps. This can include things like print sales and other items in my shop. Here are all the ways to help:

1. Share My Art Online

   • Send links to your friends to my website or print shop or repost my art on social media. Please remember to put my name in the post ( "art by Candice Broersma") for proper crediting. It’s easy to forget, but important to do whenever you post artist’s work online

2. Subscribe to my Newsletter

   • It’s free and comes just once a month except for special event announcements

3. Follow and "Like" Me on Social Media

   • You know the shpeel. More activity is attractive to the finicky algorithms, which will in turn boost my visibility

4. Buy My Prints, Stationery, etc.

   • From my website store and print shop

5. Donate Directly

   • Any little bit helps! Donation link here

Links to Socials

Mushroom Valentines Card

In my exploration of direct digital downloads, I bring you a cheesy Valentines card based on one of my Shrumans!

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It’s available on my Etsy store in a few different printout styles.

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Merry Christmas! Printable Christmas Card Featuring Mushroom Santa

The Christmas Card you didn't ask for but now you want undeniably…Mushroom Santa! Now available on Etsy as an instant download card you can print out DIY style.

One more mushroom fellow for the Shruman empire! I still have my mushroom people stickers available on Etsy as well that can be the perfect combo gift. :)

"Shrumans 2" Mushroom Stickers Released on Etsy

Now that my new Cricut is operational, we will start seeing more stickers! My “Shrumans 2” stickers are a sequel to my “Shrumans 1”, which come both as a set and separately on my Etsy store!

With “Shrumans 2” I wanted to add more emotional range. I take my inspiration from the ridiculous and cute stickers found in Japanese stationery whose mascots have a life of their own. Think Hello Kitty and Sanrio, but there are far weirder and creative mascots out there. It’s more challenging to get characters to be expressive when they are rendered more realistically, but I think my experiment was successful in finding a balance!